In the years since the first impeachment of Donald Trump for his “perfect phone call” with the President of Ukraine, MAGA Republicans and their enablers in Congress have been touting a story about the so-called “Biden Crime Family,” making accusations of bribery and abuse of power. This culminated in the December 2023 vote to initiate an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, an action supported by the vote of every Republican House member, including Brian Fitzpatrick, despite there being no evidence of President Biden committing high crimes or misdemeanors.
GOP lawmakers based this impeachment inquiry into President Biden on now-discredited information provided by Alexander Smirnov, an FBI source. At the center of the Republican’s false narrative was that in 2015 and 2016 then-Vice President Biden was going to help his son Hunter, and Burisma, the company that Hunter worked for, by using his influence to get rid of a Ukrainian prosecutor who was troubling the company, in exchange for money. From CNN:
Smirnov was the source of the false allegations that the Bidens received $10 million in bribes in exchange for favors to benefit a Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, while the president’s son, Hunter, was a paid board member. Smirnov now claims to have gotten some of his dirt about the Bidens from Russian intelligence officials, according to court documents….
…Smirnov told the FBI that Burisma executives admitted to him in 2015 and 2016 that they hired Hunter Biden to “protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems,” and that they had paid $5 million to each Biden… six years after his original report, Smirnov was again interviewed by the FBI regarding his claims about the Bidens. Prosecutors said that he “repeated some false claims, changed his story as to other of his claims, and promoted a new false narrative after he said he met with Russian officials.”
Alexander Smirnov was arrested this past week and charged with lying to the FBI and falsifying documents. These charges were made at the behest of a Trump-appointed prosecutor, David Weiss. And it appears that this false story is sourced in Russian-created disinformation.
How is Congressman Fitzpatrick involved?
Congressman Fitzpatrick often speaks of his time with the FBI. What many people do not know is that Fitzpatrick was working for the FBI in Ukraine in 2015. The allegations towards President Biden include him working towards the removal of Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who they claim was going to prosecute Burisma. Biden did actually call for Shokin’s removal, but not to benefit his son, but because Shokin was corrupt. And Brian Fitzpatrick not only knew this, but spoke about it on the record with NPR in 2019:
FITZPATRICK: “I got sent [to Ukraine] to give them a hand and help them set up what was known as the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. The prosecutor general’s office was a problem. There was a lot of corruption within that entity itself. And, obviously, it was believed that Mr. Shokin was part of that problem.”
Based on that statement, it becomes clear that Congressman Fitzpatrick was fully aware that the foundation of the Republican impeachment inquiry into President Biden was unfounded from the start. He was well aware that the Ukrainian prosecutor was corrupt, as that was part of his work assignment for his time in Ukraine. So that begs this question: Why would Fitzpatrick have voted for an impeachment inquiry of Biden, if he knew from his own personal experience it was based on a narrative he knew was false?
The Giuliani Connection and Criminal Foreign Campaign Donations
As the Russian connection to this false narrative about the Bidens comes out, one issue that has emerged is how similar this all has been to the disinformation that Rudy Giuliani and his cronies brought back from their journeys overseas during the 2020 election. They too came home with similar accusations, possibly from the same discredited sources tied to Russian intelligence.
Those same Giuliani pals sought to influence elections here in Pennsylvania. The story broke in 2019 that Rep. Fitzpatrick was a recipient of thousands of dollars from Igor Fruman, one of the two Giuliani friends who were indicted and convicted for a straw donations scheme, whereby they funneled illegal foreign donations to U.S. political candidates, like Brian Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick has never returned that donation, as his colleagues did, but instead claims he has given it to charity, an irregular and unethical habit of his when dealing with dirty donations.
READ: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s Use Of Dirty Campaign Money Is Shameful”
Was Fitzpatrick’s history of interactions with Ukraine the reason he was one of only two Pennsylvania lawmakers targeted for this illegal donation? The Congressman himself cannot answer that question, but he could explain to his constituents why he did not return the tainted cash, as his fellow lawmakers did.
Republican Brian Fitzpatrick has had experience in Ukraine. He knows far more than the average U.S. Representative about this situation. He owes his constituents answers, particularly about that illegal donation, and why he would place a vote to start an impeachment inquiry into President Biden when he knew from his personal experience that it was built upon lies. He should be asked those questions as he goes on the campaign trail this year.
